Here are some suggestions before inviting a solar company to your home, business or church:
- Check the California CSLB – (Contractors State License Board) to see how long the company has really been in business, find out if they are property insured, and verify if the company is C-10 licensed. This is the GOLD license for solar installations. A C-10 electrical contractor is accredited to install your solar equipment from start to finish. If the company only has a C-46 “for solar” this is the first sign that part of your job WILL be sub contracted.
- Check who is coming to your house – How long have the sales reps been representing their solar company and if they’re even registered with the CSLB – Any sales rep who comes to your home, business or church MUST be licensed, ACCORDING TO THE CALIFORNIA CONTRACTOR’S BOARD.
- Visit the BBB (Better Business Bureau) – While Palomar Solar does not feel the BBB is the end all be all, it is a good reference for the type of company you’ll be working with.
- What is the credit rating of the solar company you are considering? – Remember you are entering into at least a 25 year relationship. Palomar Solar has an excellent rating and we are happy to share this with you.
- Read online complaints – For instance, by searching the solar company name on Google with the word complaints after, you’ll be able to see some information.
- Read online reviews – Read review on Yelp, Solar Reviews, Google, Facebook etc… The customers will speak for the company
- Written Warranties – Make sure the solar company is insured and offers written warranties. Palomar Solar offers a 25 year warranty on our labor, to match the main solar component’s 25 year warranties.
- Equipment quality – Make sure the product offered is Tier 1 quality (high quality) from a reputable manufacturer. This is particularly important as you are in for a 25-year investment.
- Find out if they offer per solar per panel monitoring – If a company is unable to show you at least 50 systems they have under monitoring, chances are they don’t monitor system production, as such they don’t want to be held accountable if a panel or the entire system is down. Palomar Solar has over 600 systems under monitoring that have been made public by our customers to share with potential customers. Monitoring of the system as a whole is much different than at the panel level.
- Financing – Make sure the companies you are considering offer you multiple solar financing options. In today’s market there are a variety of programs to help you go solar with little to no money down, such as a PACE programs (Property-Assessed Clean Energy Programs) or local Credit Unions. Palomar Solar is associated with numerous organizations to make sure our customers have the best available options to help them take decisions that best suits their financial needs.
We hope these suggestions save you some time and headache. These steps are helpful to do before choosing any type of contractor to work on your home.
We truly appreciate the opportunity to help you go solar!